This is a big deal - we are not only putting a truly vast sum of money at stake - the defence contractors estimate £25 billion, so we can assume at least three times that, 10 years late - we are also binding ourselves into a strategic commitment to maintaining not just a nuclear arsenal, but to a uniquely cold-war era one, based around submarine launched ballistic missiles.

Kofi Annan's initiative is in trouble. The Syrian regime declared its acceptance of the UN sponsored plan on March 27th 2012. The main requirement of the plan is the pulling back of the Syrian troops from Syrian cities by April 10th and all fighting to stop within 48 hours after that.. There is no chance of that.